Such bottle packings are known in various forms. The embodiment of DE-TS No. 22 24 866 was basic in that it made it possible for the first time to put bottle carriers for two rows of bottles in a bottle case which was also suitable for the transport of single bottles. The bottle case used was characterized in that it was provided with partition walls and with column-like spacers of which the partition walls were so arranged to define a compartment for each bottle carrier with at least one spacer provided in each compartment and projecting up from the bottom of the case. These spacers were so formed that they projected through openings in the bottom of the bottle carriers placed in the case in such position as to project in the space between bottles in the bottle carrier. A variety of bottle carriers could be used in such bottle case. Especially significant was the possibility of using bottle carriers in the form of a wrap-around carton without end walls which holds six bottles. With a bottle carrier of this kind, the bottles in the carton all contact one another. This has the result that the spacer can be provided only in the space between four contacting bottles. During transport individual bottles are secured in standing position by the spacers but they can contact one another during transport and thereby produce objectionable noise. If the bottle carrier used have the form of a box with a bottom and four side walls, the spacers can be provided with wings so as to give the spacers a star form in cross section whereby these wings extend between individual bottles and keep them from contacting one another so long as they are in a plastic case. However, if these box form bottles carriers are taken out of the case, the bottles contact one another and can strike one another so as to produce noise.
Another form of bottle case which is suitable for receiving bottle carriers with bottles is known through DE-OS No. 26 22 801. In this case two spacers are used for a bottle carrier for six bottles. The spacers have in cross section the form of a quarter circle while between them there is an elongated spacer in the form of an S. These elongated spacers can, however, present the bottles from striking one another only when they are in the plastic case but not in the bottle carrier. In this embodiment the bottle carrier must have an especially stiff bottom since, by reason of the required long openings in the bottom to accommodate the spacers in the case, there is the danger that the bottles will fall out through these openings and that the bottom through the weight of the liquid filled bottles will break.
In order to prevent the bottles from striking one another during their transport in the bottle carrier, it is necessary to use a bottle carrier which is divided into compartments. Such bottles carriers can be made of cardboard. An example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,162 which also shows a bottle case which is provided with spacers. The spacers are in the form of four adjacent columns with transverse slits between the spacers of a pair so that the partition walls of the bottle carriers can be received in these spaces when the bottle carriers are placed in the case. However, these four columns are not able to keep individual bottles from striking one another when placed in the plastic case without bottle carriers. A plastic bottle case of this kind with four columns as spacers for four bottles is extraordinarily difficult to produce because the four columns with their enclosed slots can take no more room than prior spacers. Hence, four extraordinarily thin cores are required to produce the hollows in the four columns. These four cores cannot be cooled. This has the result that after the molding of the case, the four columns are warmer than the casing wall. Upon opening the injection mold, the four columns are easily deformed which renders the plastic case unusable. If time is allowed for the columns to cool to a lower temperature, the production rate of the molding machine is decreased and there is the danger that the very thin cores may be broken off when removing the molded case.